Page 15

since she worked with them. Andy and Ben worked in the accounting area

and the other was April. Christina found April’s usually annoying presence

to be slightly comforting. April’s light brown hair was curled prettily, and

she had on a black dress and a cardigan that didn’t emphasize how tall and

gangly she was. She laughed and chatted happily with the others at the

table. Obviously, she had people skills that Christina somewhat lacked.

She didn’t exactly want to gain them. She hated talking to people she

didn’t know. It was, for the most part, a vast waste of time. No one ever had

anything interesting to say. Most people carried on with self-absorbed

conversations that she could definitely do without hearing.

All throughout the evening, Christina had thought about the work she

could be getting done instead of sitting there eating meat that was

overcooked and desserts that were so sweet and sugary they were probably

purchased from some convenience store down the street, unwrapped, and

sprinkled with sauce on a huge plate to make them fancy and appealing.

Ugh. How much of the hundred-dollar ticket is that charity actually

going to get and how much of it is going to fund the nasty food and shitty

magician?

She stared at April, who was chatting freely with the two guys she was

sandwiched between and thought instead about her speech. She’d written

something corny. She knew it was beautifully written, full of clichés, and

the normal business nonsense that people liked to hear spouted off.

She wondered if anyone knew who her dad was. Since she hadn’t been

approached by anyone who had an armful of business cards and a sob story

or a start-up pitch for her to pass along, she figured that she was pretty

much safe. She sat there and debated about whether to use her last name

when she introduced herself or not. Although, this was Austin and New

York was a long way away. She should be safe. She knew she was third in

the lineup and the boring part of the evening hadn’t even started yet. She

wondered how many people were going to come after her. The only thing